At Life's Edge
by Flipper Boid Skua
Summary: Cretaceous, on the verge of death, is rescued by our herd of heroes and is on a mission to return home! However, complications arise when everyone realizes that Cretaceous and Maelstrom aren't the only prehistoric predators to thaw out of the ice. R&R!
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I don't own Ice Age or any of its characters.

This is my first ever Ice Age story, and I'm nervous. Especially since my favorite characters isn't everybody elses...

New Note: One of my reviews from Morag I suggested that I make this a prologue to another of my Ice Age stories and personally I thought it was a great idea. So I'm gonna go along with it and see how it goes. Thanks for the idea, Morag!

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Cretaceous opened his eyes slowly, nearly having them blinded by the piercing sun. First thing he noticed was that there was ground under him and something heavy was pressing him, almost crushing him flat. He needed to get free, before something bad happens. Or maybe something bad's already happened. He couldn't remember much, his head hurts beyond belief.

Digging the sharp claws of his front feet into the earth, he pulled as hard as he could. He felt himself drag forward only a mere inch before he tired out. This wasn't working...This was just painful. He felt as though his scales were being peeled from his body, that his fins were tearing...even though he was sure they're not.

How long had he been out cold? How long has he been out of the water? Judging from how dry he is, he guessed it must've been a long time. How heavy he felt...

Finally, he recovered enough to try again, growling in frustration...and also whimpering in distress. He wanted to be free! He needed help. He paused, sniffing and looking around. Where's Maelstrom? The larger reptile, he found, was still comatose beside him and he knew the other won't be of much help at the moment.

Trying once more, he slowly pulled himself looser and looser, the rock's rough surface scratching painfully against his purple skin. Just a few more feet...Almost there...Got it! Weakly, he dragged himself away a couple of feet, panting from the effort. He checked his back flippers and tail, just to make sure they were alright.

Then he crumpled to the ground, too weak to hold himself up any longer. What happened? Why was he like this? He remembered how he and his companion were freed from the ice that encased them and about satisfying their appetites on the strange creatures that inhabit this strange place. Being frozen for thousands, maybe even millions of years tended to leave your stomach empty...

He remembered a large long-nosed creature he and Maelstrom has been hunting. He remembered his initial failure then...slowly the second encounter became known. Something happened...

Closing his eyes tight he tried to remember exactly what took place. He remembered the final lunge, jaws open...and then something fell on them...something heavy that took them into the abyss...Darkness.

Eyes snapping open, he finally understood everything. He must've passed out, coming around just minutes before. The water must've been drained out or something and all that was left was puddles large and small. It was hopeless...He was stranded on land and it was getting hard to breathe. He ventured out of water on several occasions, but never for very long...

A rumble sounded behind him. Maelstrom. It occured to him that his friend was still trapped under the large rock. He should get him out! But, barely being able to move himself, he knew it would be useless. His green friend made a cough and opened his eyes groggily. Disorientated, the fellow sea reptile tried to pull free, but, unlike his companion, he wasn't made for any land-based activities whatsoever.

Looking at the crocodile-like creature before him, he made a pitiful grunt. Understandable to reptiles, Cretaceous understood it well:

"Help me..."

Cretaceous didn't care how weak he was...he dragged himself over to his friend, the dirt irritating his underbelly, and reached out with a paw. He grabbed one of Maelstrom's front flippers and gave a firm tug. Nothing. He used both paws, bracing himself with his tail and hind limbs. Maelstrom also pulled as hard as he could and the rock overhead shifted ever so slightly. That was enough and, with one final yank, he was free.

Both collapsed in exhaustion and pain, not wanting to move anymore. It surprised Cretaceous that he managed to do anything at all. Looking at Maelstrom wearily, he knew that in the end, his efforts would prove meaningless. There was no hope of survival for his companion, who was having more trouble breathing than he was. And there was no way the larger animal can move, not out of water...

Cretaceous shot a glance at a puddle nearby. It wasn't deep, but it would be some relief from the heat beating down on them. Not muttering a sound, he pulled himself over to the puddle and, thinking of his friend first, splashed water in Maelstrom's direction with his tail. But it didn't seem to be helping much...

Concerned, Cretaceous hissed:

"Are you okay?"

Maelstrom was barely able to shake his head. The smaller reptile forced a swallow down his throat and looked away, not sure if he wanted to stick around. He didn't want to see his friend like this, but he couldn't leave him alone all by himself. What kind of friend would he be? Sighing weakly, he reached a conclusion and crawled over to the distressed reptile. He settled a yard away and rested his large head on the ground.

"We had a good swim..." he muttered halfheartedly before giving a cough. Maelstrom forced a smile and nodded softly before closing his eyes tight. Cretaceous continued. "And it was fun while it lasted..." No reply. "Maelstrom?" This time, he received an almost silent huff. The purple water lizard shook his head sorrowfully.

Peering up at the blistering sun, he wondered how a place once covered in ice could be so hot...The heat must be making him see things because he could make out outlines of flying creatures circling overhead. Shaking his head fervently, he took another look. Still there...Huh...Not knowing how to react, he ignored the aerial creatures and tried to sleep. That's all he wants at the moment, sleep. Sleep so deep he won't be able to feel his aches and pains anymore.

"I guess this is how it all ends..." Maelstrom mumbled. "Funny...I always envisioned my end to be...different...more dignified..."

Cretaceous nodded in agreement, not even opening his eyes. But just before nodding off into unconsciousness, he felt something land on his back. He growled and shifted an annoyance. The creature took off again. Forcing his eyelids open, he gazed at the thing that dared to wake him up. It was black and feathered with a bald pink head and neck and a white ruff. Strangely, it was grinning at him as it rose higher. He hissed at it in warning before looking over at Maelstrom to see if he's having the same problem.

"Are these things aggravating or what?" he asked. His larger companion said nothing, so still that not even his labored breaths can be made out. Frowning, Cretaceous pushed up with his paws and sniffed forward. A strange smell met his nose. Dragging a little closer he nudged his companion with the tip of his snout. No reaction.

Teeth chattering nervously, he nudged harder. Still nothing. "Maelstrom! Wake up!" he roared and even went as far as to nip the giant green reptile. Useless. He tried to hold back a whimper, but it escaped anyway. He knew what happened and he couldn't quite believe it yet. He always thought of his friend as indestructible, untouchable at the top of the food-chain...and now...

More of those feathered creatures landed on his companion and Cretaceous bared his teeth at them and made a weak lunge. The creatures didn't even flinch and snickered amongst themselves in a foreign language Cretaceous couldn't understand. Growling in fury, he made another snapping threat, only for the things to laugh even louder, as if mocking him. He huffed.

Backing away, he decided that he didn't want to face the same fate and turned around. Slowly, claws digging into the dirt with every step, he pulled himself along. Another creature landed near him and slowly followed, smirking widely.

"Leave me alone, dang it!" Cretaceous screeched in anger. What were these creatures and why won't they back off? The creature chuckled darkly and shrugged as if signalling that it couldn't understand what the enraged reptile was saying. It wouldn't surprise Cretaceous. He couldn't understand them, so why should he expect them to heed his words.

Actions speak louder than words and the crocodilian-like sea monster snapped at it before becoming lightheaded and toppling over. The creature jumped forward and bit his belly while it was still expose. Cretaceous cried out in pain and took a swipe at the annoying pest. It backed off a bit, but was still grinning, beak rimmed with blood. His blood.

Cretaceous growled menacingly and knew now what was happening. These things were waiting...waiting until he died...so they could eat him. Strangely, that seemed to bring peace into his reptilian mind. It was meant to be. And there wasn't much he could do to stop them. He figured that out against his will. Now, ignoring the thing, he continued to pull himself along, the wound on his belly stinging on every movement.

He knew it would be useless to try and save himself now. Instead, he'll try and make himself more comfortable. He spotted a reasonably deep puddle and tumbled into it, rolling from side to side to make himself wet with the water, which was already staining red with blood. Then the icthyosaur settled down and watched the thing waiting at the edge of the water with one eye, the other closed tight.

Another creature wandered over, and the first one muttered something in a smug tone. Cretaceous grunted irritably, but did nothing.

The world was getting darker though...and he wasn't sure why...The heat faltered and he felt a chill, strangely soothing. He couldn't stop a soft smile as a calm, pleasant feeling overtook what was left of his senses. Closing his eye, he gave a content sigh and wondered vaguely if Maelstrom experienced this same sensation of irrational happiness...

He hoped he did...

Blackness...

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So, yeah, I'm gonna post up what was once the first chapter of my other Ice Age story. Actually make this a chapter story...I hope everybody else likes the idea!


	2. The Herd

Disclaimer: I don't own Ice Age movies or any of their characters.

Here goes nothing...This was once the first chapter for my story, One of a Kind. Now, as a suggestion, I've deleted that story and added this to my story At Life's Edge. But I'm a little nervous about the whole thing...Please reassure me!

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"You guys hear that?" Sid asked as he once again lagged behind the others, who kept on going without a look back at him and Manny only answered with one word:

"No."

"Well, I did. And I think it came from over here." Sid continued, moving towards the sound that caught his short attention so keenly. Again, nobody bothered to look back at him, but Diego did respond with a typical sarcastic comment.

"Wow, he _thought._ That's a big accomplishment." he muttered under his breath. At last, the other herd members paused in their steps and turned towards the sloth, Diego looking uninterested, Ellie looking gently amused, Crash and Eddie looking bored out of their minds, and Manny looking annoyed. Then, the male mammoth rolling his eyes, they followed after the laziest member of the group (You cannot deny the truth!).

"Sid, this better be good and _not _another bathroom break." Manny called out. Sid snuck a rare glare over his shoulder and snuffed in an insulted manner. Even when given the title of 'Fire King', nobody ever seems to give him the respect he wants. Why don't they ever pick on Diego for a change? Sometimes, he wondered what they had against him...

As if he didn't know...

The source of the sound wasn't far and when he arrived, Sid froze in his tracks. Coming up behind him, the others saw the reason.

"Oh, look...More scary vultures. Isn't that nice?" Manny said irritably. He had every good reason not to like the birds, especially after their 'Food, Glorious Food' segment (Which was a work of genius, mind). Personally, he had hoped never to see them again.

"What are they eating?" Eddie asked somewhat nervously, hugging with his twin brother tightly.

"I don't know, but I'd rather not find out." Ellie replied. She was as uneasy about vultures as the others and again, for very good reason. Back in her possum life, she was scared of any large bird, mainly hawks, but these scavengers weren't entire excluded. Even now, she still had the same negative feelings towards them, as life-long habits are hard to break. Anywho, who in the world wasn't afraid of vultures to begin with (I'm not!)?

Sid edged closer, unnoticed by the birds at the moment. "I dunno. I think one of the things they're eating is still alive." He narrowed his eyes, straining for a better look. The crowd of scavengers were blocking the view of whatever they were feasting on, but the sloth swore he saw movement within the group. His instincts proved correct as he also made out a soft hissing noise. He jumped backwards. "Manny! We have to do something!" was the first thing that came out of his lispy mouth.

The mammoth huffed. How many times have he been expected to save something? First and mostly Sid, then the human baby they nicknamed Pinkie, even Diego a couple of times. That's not even including their newest additions to the herd. Will he ever get a break? Oh well, he was on a hero's streak, might as well go along with it...

Still, his cautious instincts were kicking in and he learned never to ignore them. It wasn't the vultures themselves that set off his inner alarm, but whatever was among them. He was hesitant to come any closer for just that reason. The meal the birds were enjoying wasn't a good thing, that's all he knew. However, Sid wasn't usually held back by such feelings, which explained why he tended to do or think stupid things sometimes. He was always the helpful-type...most of the time...And this was one of those times.

"Come on! Get outta here! Shoo!" the sloth yelled, waddling over to the birds while waving his arms. The vultures looked over at him and grinned, not the least bit intimidated. Sid just didn't have what it takes to inspire fear in other creatures. Now Diego was another matter. Deciding to help things along, the tiger sprinted towards the flock with a roar. At this, the birds flapped their large wings hard and took off to another nearby group of vultures. Some looked back at the saber-toothed cat, others joined the others in their feast.

Upon seeing the nature of what they rescued, Sid and Diego hesitated. Ellie took a step back, Crash and Eddie hiding behind her legs, while Manny glared at the creature. It was one of those sea monsters that tried to eat them. The purple one with the fins and the looks that can pass as a mutated crocodile. The creature was out cold, it seemed, and certain members of the herd wanted to keep it that way. But what should they do now?

Sid gulped and against all reasoning, stepped closer to the thing.

"Sid! What're you doing?" Manny reprimanded angrily.

"Trying to see if its okay." the sloth answered innocently. He was now close enough to poke at the large reptile and he was just about to do just that.

"You touch that thing and it'll kill you. If not, I'll do it." the frustrated mammoth told him. Sid looked back at the others.

"We can't just leave it here."

"Sure we can." Crash muttered. "We just have to walk in the opposite direction and not look back."

"Come on guys." Sid started. "We chased those scary vultures away...we have to help." He was struck with an idea. "It can be part of our herd!" At this, the others jolted back in alarm.

"What!?" they all exclaimed at the same time. What was Sid thinking? Letting this creature join them? That's crazy...worse than crazy...Suicidal crazy! As usual, Sid made no acknowledgment to their shock.

"Just until it gets better. Look, there's bite marks all over it." Again, as usual, Manny offered up an objection.

"Take it along and it'll put bite marks on us."

"Maybe it won't hurt us, since we helped it and all."

"OR maybe it'll eat us all in our sleep."

The others stayed out of it and only watched back and forth. They knew by now that it was useless to argue with Sid, as he'll never let up and will just keep going on and on. In fact, right about now he made a good point.

"We accepted Diego into our herd. We had no problem with him." Sid told them. There was no response to this, and Diego lowered his gaze to the ground. He wasn't comfortable with this subject and it still shamed him on how he had once intended to betray them. Sell Manny, Sid, and the baby out to his pack to be eaten. And yet, even with that fact, the others still let him tag along as if none of that ever happened...despite his predatory nature...Why not offer this creature the same treatment?

Manny arrived at the same conclusion and he gave a sigh. Why was Sid always so undefeatable in arguments anyway? All he ever wanted to do was stupid and irresponsible things. Well, like Diego once said, 'It'll be easier on all of us if you just go with it.' He'll go along with it, no matter how much he didn't want to. However, if anything, he wasn't about to look soft about it.

"Alright. But the same rules apply here as it had with Pinkie. YOUR idea, YOU are reponsible for it." he said sternly. Sid smiled and waved his hand dismissively.

"Ah, don't worry. I mean how bad could it be?"

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I'm not very good at the other characters, I'll admit. But at least I tried. Gonna put up the next chappie ASAP. Until then, I hope you guys are going to like this fic, and I hope you'll review! Please and Thank you!


	3. Maybe

Disclaimer: I don't own Ice Age movies or any of their characters.

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"Hey. I think it's waking up..." Eddie muttered as he and Crash circled the creature, occasionally climbing onto its back and sliding back off. They had decided to settle on this spot for the night, near where they first found their newest 'member', with Sid busy as he tried to keep his fire lit. The sea animal was grumbling and hissing under its breath and the possums tried hard to make sense of the sounds...without success. Might as well try understanding a foreign language.

"Crash, Eddie. Careful." their big sister warned them in concern. She didn't want anything to happen to her brothers, as she spent nearly her whole life with them. Last thing she needs is their relationship to end with just a snap of the monster's jaws.

"Don't worry, Ellie. Everything's under control." Crash reassured before poking the creature on the tip of its snout. Then, with lightning speed, the jaws lunged open and closed shut. With even greater lightning speed, the possum twins yelped and jumped, the sharp teeth barely missing their long tails. They landed on the long purple muzzle before bounding off in panic behind their sister.

"Under control, huh?" Diego said with an amused look in his eyes. The possums peeked out to look at the reptile, Eddie almost whimpering in fright. There's only a few things the usually fearless possum bros were scared of, and this predator was one of them...

Cretaceous growled irritably as he opened his eyes. He never liked being woken up, especially with a poke. However his anger faltered when he saw the annoyances that did the waking. It was the creatures he and Maelstrom were hunting. Of all things...He took one look at largest of the creatures and the grudge-holding part of his personality made itself obvious instantly. So did his anger. Narrowing his eyes and baring his teeth, he tries his best to intimidate the slightly bigger creature. But, he winces and glances down his body.

Right, those fliers had indeed taken their toll...Personally, he thought he'd be dead with those flying feathered freaks (try saying that 5 times fast) eating every strap of him out of existence. Guess not, but why? Why didn't they finish him off? He barely gave a struggle...Maybe...He looked over at his unwelcoming companions and considered the possibility of them saving him. He doubted it. Why would they rescue him?

Whatever their reason, he wanted NOTHING to do with them...

Sid straightened and tried to look brave as he approached the angered reptile. He failed somewhere along the line and hesitated when the creature turned its hostile gaze at directly at him. He tried to talk to it, make it feel better... "Hey, buddy. You're probably wondering what your doing with us, huh?"

Cretaceous was wondering something, but it wasn't ABOUT what the strange creature said, it was more like WHAT it said. The icthyosaur had no idea what the fur ball was saying, much like he couldn't understand those fliers. He knew one language and one language only and that was his native tongue...But, he could tell from the tone that it was probably some sort of good-natured question...maybe...He couldn't think more as Two-Legs continued.

"Well, we saw you needing help, so we saved ya! No thanks nessecary." Sid said with a grin. The only reponse he got was a rather confused look which quickly returned to its original 'I'm-gonna-kill-you' vibe, something Sid (not surprisingly) is used to.

"Forget it Sid. It doesn't understand you." Manny pointed out as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. When he said this, the creature seemed to have remembered his presence and glared at him. He glared back, knowing that they both held a grudge they weren't willing to relinquish. But the sea reptile soon broke the staring contest with a frustrated grunt.

Without further ado, Cretaceous dug his sharp claws into the dirt and pulled, dragging his body forward laboriously. It still surprised him how hard it was to move on land as oppose as to moving on ice. He had almost no trouble with the latter, but this was a killer. Maybe it's because his wounds was still screaming with every movement, especially that wound that flier gave him on his belly. No doubt, that one would scar him for life.

Working hard, he managed to turn around and rested a moment before he moved off a distance away and settled down on top of a bush. He glared back at the Long-Nose and snorted hatefully. He'll never forget how it threw him right into an ice block and how it kicked him in the gut. Most of all, he'll never forget that the over sized fur ball survived two of his attacks. TWO!!! He still growls at the thought of it.

Sid slowly shuffled after the aquatic animal. "Oh, hey, we're not that bad." he started, wanting to persuade the reptile to return to its original spot. "Sure, we had our rough patches, but I'm sure that we can put that behind us. What do you say?" The sea critter hissed at him in warning and turned its head away.

The sloth rubbed the back of his neck, wondering what to do next. He smiled in an attempt to cover up his uncertainty and stepped closer. The creature heard the movement and snapped a hard look at the sloth before having to forcibly scoot backward off the bush, obviously telling Sid to mind his distance or else.

"Leave it, sweetie." Ellie said. "It probably just wants to be alone right now."

Sid sighed dejectedly. Despite the fact that he still wanted the creature to feel better, he knew she was right. Ellie was practically the only one in the group to actually treat him...well...with respect. For that he was grateful, as everyone else always enjoyed torturing him in some way or another. Looking at the creature, still glaring at him, he backed off towards the campfire.

Cretaceous huffed with satisfaction when Two-Legs returned to its little group. Finally, he can be left to his own devices. That creature was starting to annoy him with its endless blabber. Ignoring the pain of his injuries, he turned away and curled up on this cold hard ground. He didn't feel like exerting the effort needed to pull himself back on the bush.

With a saddened sigh, he looked back at the place where he left Maelstrom, where the scavenging fliers are now starting to disperse to...wherever they will spend the night. He only glimpsed at the remains of his best friend and forced his eyes away. He didn't want to look. Not right now. Right now, he only wanted to close his eyes and drift off into unconsciousness...

But even in his sleep, he wondered about the creatures that were currently accompaning him. He might not like them, but with Maelstrom gone, they're the only things familiar in this strange landscape. And what if they did help him? They were obviously trying to be nice to him, or at least Two-Legs was, in an annoying kind of way...Still, to hang out with prey items was unthinkable to him. They were of no use if he couldn't eat them.

Unless...

They had to be used to this world and its quirks. Maybe they knew where a large body of water was. He desperately wanted to go back into the cool liquid. This dry air was killing his scales and the dirt was not helping his wounds. And he NEEDED to go somewhere that resembled his old home and maybe the creatures knew the way to one...Maybe...

Maybe...

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Don't bother me about the tenses, I know they're annoying, and that's why I'm trying to fix that habit. Of course, I've been trying to fix it for a long time and not having much success...But I'm still working! As I slowly get better, or worse, please review and keep my hopes up!


	4. Scary Vulture

Disclaimer: I don't own Ice Age movies or any of their characters.

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Cretaceous heard something move nearby and he tried to ignore it, wanting to stay asleep so his agonizing pain can remain forgotten. He's been having a rough night due to his wounds and he just wanted to make up for the loss of sleep. However, he couldn't ignore the fact that whatever was moving, it was coming closer. Judging by the sounds of the footsteps, he could tell it was making a slow, somehow confident approach. This was enough to trigger his annoyance.

Forcing his eyes open, he gave a half-hearted hissing threat that stopped the instant he saw who the creature was. It was a flier. In fact, it was THE Flier. He recognized the smell. It was the one that gave him his most painful of sensations: the injury on his belly. Cretaceous felt his dorsal fin lower against his back, and for some reason, he wasn't at all surprised by the Flier's appearance. He supposed the creature had some unfinished business to attend to.

The reptile couldn't decide whether to give up and accept his fate like last time. He's practically as helpless now as he was before...or as helpless as he could be. Then again, before he didn't have a motivation to live. His best friend was dead and he himself was vulnerable. Now, he DID have a motive in life...he wanted to get into the ocean to live out the rest of his years as happily as possible. That's was what Maelstrom would've wanted. And that's what Maelstrom would get.

Cretaceous snarled at the Flier and opened his jaws to show off his numerous sharp fangs. Like last time, the Flier just chuckled in dark amusement. The sea creature growled in frustrated irritation and tried to lunge at the nuisance. But the wound on his belly protested this movement and showed it by a sharp increase in pain it gave off. The reptile cringed with a whimper and almost immediately turned away, ashamed at this show of weakness. He felt the Flier jump onto his back and he screeched:

"Get off me!"

The nearby mammals heard the noise and woke up with a surprised jolt. What could possibly make that horrible, piercing sound? They soon found out when the sea monster they rescued screeched again. They found that a vulture was on the aquatic animal's back and was trying to peck into an injury to eat from. Judging from the larger predator's reaction to this, it wasn't going to endure this painful treatment without a fight.

Manny, Sid, and Diego recognized the offending bird as the one that told them of the boat that saved everyone from the flood and also the one that initiated the Glorious Food song. Apparently, he came over for an early breakfast. A breakfast that wasn't going to happen as long as this mixed herd of mammals have anything to do with it.

"Hey!" Diego exclaimed. "Beat it!" He charged towards the bird with the possum brothers gaining a quick lead. Like Ellie, the possums had a natural fear of big birds, but they usually never let something as simple as fear get in their way of harassing a predator (Just ask Diego about it). They scurried up the struggling reptile's back and jumped onto the vulture.

"Get lost, Birdbrain." Crash muttered as he and his brother clung to the feathers, trying to find a place to bite. The bird finally took off and the possums jumped to the ground before they could be carried off. Diego leapt into the air and almost snatched the scavenger, who rose higher and glared at them all the while. The large bird landed on a nearby tree, watching them closely with an angry frown.

Cretaceous glared at his attacker perched nearby. This was his second confrontation and he was sure that he didn't want another. This creature was the thing that showed how vulnerable he was on land. In the water, he wouldn't have taken any assault of any nature and would've made the Flier pay in blood. On land, there was little he could do to begin with.

With a huff, he pushed the incident out of his mind and glanced over at his rescuers. They saved his life, perhaps for the second time. Unlike the first one, he actually witnessed it, so there was little doubt involved. Nobody other than Maelstrom has ever done that before...Maybe he should-

Before that thought even finished, he shook his head and tried to busy himself with something else that concerned him. Leaning onto one side, he curled up slightly so he could get a closer look at the wound that burdened him so much. By now, it was a raw gash covered in dirt and blood. Staring hard at it, he hoped that it wouldn't get infected. He's barely been injured before as his tough scales provided lots of protection. And when he did get hurt, it was minor and the water he lived in would always keep it clean...

Well, he's not in water anymore and this gash was anything but minor and clean. If anything, it was the complete opposite and it worried Cretaceous very much. But then, a soft sound broke his anxious thoughts and he snapped his attention towards it. It was the Smaller-Long-Nose and he relaxed a little. He thought it was another flier for a second and he was almost glad to see that it wasn't.

"Are you alright, sweetie?" Ellie asked as she stepped closer to the sea creature, Manny close behind to protect her. The male mammoth doesn't at all trust the reptile and he wasn't about to let it cause his mate any harm whatsoever. He already lost his family to a predator once before and wasn't going to let the same scenario repeat itself.

The female mammoth, on the other hand, was concerned for the crocodile-like creature. Despite all the previous scares and frights this creature caused her, she didn't want anything bad happening to it. And being attacked by a vulture was probably the most traumatizing thing to happen. She gotten even more concerned when she spotted it paying close attention to its belly. What's so interesting there? Was it hurt and trying to nurse itself? Or was she just being silly in automatically assuming it was a bad thing?

At the sound of her voice, the sea creature righted itself instantly and its gaze turned wary. Ellie knew about the reptile's reaction to other members of the herd and wasn't expecting any special treatment from it. However, the creature didn't growl or threaten or move away. Maybe the predator was finally getting used to them. Maybe it finally understood that they just wanted to help and didn't want to hurt it. And, in return, maybe it wasn't going to hurt them...

"You okay, buddy?" Sid asked, coming closer as well. At this, the creature hissed at him and bared its teeth at him. The sloth jumped back and whined in a typical manner usually reserved for when someone said his name in an annoyed tone. "What?!"

Or maybe not...

--

"Alright, time to go." Manny declared not long after the vulture incident, as soon as the sun cleared the horizon. By now a second nature, everybody followed him before they remembered the creature and looked back. The purple animal was staring at them closely, not moving a muscle. The mammals glanced at each other and then back at the reptile, wondering how to make it follow them. As far as they know, it didn't understand them and was probably wondering what they were doing walking away from it. Poor thing probably thought they were abandoning it.

Manny sighed impatiently. "Come on, Scaley. We don't have all day."

'Scaley' glared at him with the same intensity as last night. It was probably still holding something against him and this look was all that was needed to communicate that fact.

"Now, Manny. Don't rush it." Ellie said. "It's not used to traveling with us yet."

Sid bent down and clapped his hands as if trying to beckon a dog to come over. "Here, boy...or girl...I don't really know what you are..."

"I dunno." Crash said, tilting his head as he stared at the creature. "It looks like a guy to me."

"It doesn't matter what it is! What matters is that it's not following us!" Manny yelled in high annoyance. He wanted to keep moving, as there's too many vultures returning and he wants to get as far away from them as possible.

The creature, obviously given an honorary nickname by Manny, stared at them a bit longer before glancing over at the vultures nearby and the one still sitting in the tree. It seemed to pay particular attention to the group of birds finishing what they were eating the previous day. It made a grunting noise, looked back at the herd, then moved. But it wasn't what they expected.

It was turning around and straining itself slowly over to the scary vultures...

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Another chapter. I'm really glad that anybody's actually reading this. I feel really loved. ^^

One thing's for sure, I got curious today and wandered around my house, both on carpet and hard-wood...Cretaceous-style: dragging myself on my belly using only my hands. Everybody was staring at me strangely...The effort was tiring after about ten minutes...I was, you know, trying to get a feel about what it was like to be the character and maybe make this fic a bit more realistic. It really made me understand the difficulty Cretaceous would have on land and might help in future chappies. Weird and immature? Maybe. Fun and helpful? You bet. If you have no dignity like me, you can give it a try yourself and tell me about it in your reviews!


	5. Mourning

Disclaimer: I don't own Ice Age movies or any of their characters.

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Cretaceous knew exactly what he was doing. He knew his actions were confusing the fur balls, and even confusing him a little. But, if the group was going to leave, he wanted to do something first. No...He didn't merely WANT to do it...He NEEDED to do it. And if it means confronting his feathered enemies one more time...then that's the risk he was going to take.

"Scram!" he hissed at the fliers, who snapped their gaze at him. Although most had that annoyingly amused look, some seemed surprised that he was getting closer to them under his free will. He hissed again and the fliers didn't move like he wanted. Still, he continued his cumbersome advance.

"What is it doing?" Eddie asked as they watched this seemingly suicidal act. The others seemed speechless, obviously not understanding the situation either. What was Scaley thinking? They were supposed to be moving AWAY from the scary vultures, not moving towards them. Exactly what did it have in mind that was worth this?...Well, it must've been very important.

"We should help it with whatever it's doing! Come on!" Sid said as he moved to the reptile's aid as fast as he could. Diego shrugged and followed, then Ellie and the possums, and then (begrudgingly) Manny joined, grumbling under his breath about how everyone's slowly losing their minds.

The vultures saw them coming and took off to join the one in the tree, watching the situation as the mammals approached their meal. When the herd saw exactly what the apparent object of interest was, they slowed down to a complete stop.

"Oh..." Ellie muttered softly as her face saddened.

Cretaceous peeked over at the fur balls that helped him chase the vile creatures away and then turned to the remains of his best friend. He knew that this would be the very last time he will ever see his almost life-long pal...and he wanted to savor the moment for as long as possible. Silently, he pressed his nose to Maelstrom's and closed his eyes. He could feel watery stuff welling up behind his lids and he felt confused by it, but he wasn't going to let this strange moisture ruin everything.

Again, with no sound, he opened his eyes and shifted to the side before laying a paw on what was left of the other reptile's front flipper. Blinking as the water slid down his cheeks, he sighed shakily and placed his head on the ground. Glancing at Maelstrom's torn scales and bloodied body, he slowly turned a glare at the fliers who did this before closing his eyes again.

An unrecognizable shudder passed through his body and he tried unsuccessfully to choke back a strangely quiet sound, almost like a whimper. This was the first time his body was doing all of this, and he wasn't sure he liked it.

"Aw, it's crying." Ellie sympathized as the herd watched Scaley from a safe distance. They assumed that the creature was safe to come near right now, but they didn't want to take the chance. Instead, they were content to stay back out of biting distance and watch with sorrowful expressions.

So this was why Scaley wasn't in a hurry to leave. The herd knew that the reptiles stuck together but they had no idea how close the actual relationship was. They thought the creatures tolerated each other only as a matter of convenience and never more than that. Now they're starting to see their former enemies in a completely new light...

Slowly, Ellie stepped closer.

Cretaceous heard one of the fur balls advancing, but paid it no mind. Rather, his mind wondered to happier days before they accidently got frozen.

He remembered meeting the larger marine animal shortly after he hatched on the beach and ventured into the water for the first time. Back then, Maelstrom was a lot smaller than he was now and only ate clams off the sea bed and ammonites that floated weightlessly. It was Cretaceous that made the pliosaur realize the wonders outside the world of sea food and into being a true predator. They started with smaller youngsters and moved onto bigger prey as they got older. Because of this, Maelstrom always said how he's practically in debt to Cretaceous.

Smiling in his pleasant reverie, he sniffed and shook his head, stirring dirt and throwing the water stuff off his face. More came to replace it as he continued his thoughts.

That debt was paid just before their freezing accident. Cretaceous was exploring the caverns of a large ice-block, which was back then an unknown thing. Maelstrom, being the 'stay-back-and-assess-the-situation' type, warned him not to. Cretaceous, being the 'check-things-out-now-and-ask-questions-later' member of the duo, paid no mind. He just swam through one frozen corridor after another in a maze. Then things went wrong and he quickly got lost. He wasted no time calling for his friend, who came to his rescue. But they were then trapped inside and the story was obvious from there.

What Cretaceous would give to have his friend back...

He felt something furry touch the top of his head, and his sense of smell told him that it was the Smaller-Long-Nose. He made no response.

"It's okay, sweetie. Don't cry." Ellie tried to soothe the distressed creature, petting it gently. "Everything's gonna be alright, you'll see."

Scaley gave a shudder and stiffened before glancing at her. She saw its tear-filled eyes for just a second before it looked away and mustered a strained growl. Ellie paused before understanding what Scaley wanted her to do and backed off with her kindly expression. She knew how it felt to lose a loved one, after what happened to Cousin Wilton with that hawk. She knew that Scaley just wanted to be left alone at the moment.

Walking over to the others, the herd sat back and waited...

--

After a couple of hours, Manny decided that it was time to move on and trudged away quietly. The others looked at him, then at Scaley, then back at him. Sighing, they knew they didn't have a choice and slowly followed after the mammoth.

Cretaceous, still in his mourning phase, looked at the group leaving and sighed. He knew that it was time to go and that it was probably a good idea. He didn't want to push his luck with the fliers, which have been patient so far. Last thing he needed was for them to decide that he was as good to eat as Maelstrom.

Paying his deceased friend one last longing look, he forced himself to turn and pulled towards the herd one laborious tug after another. The fur balls seemed to have noticed him and paused, probably waiting until he caught up. Growling in slight frustration, he knew that he had a long and painful journey ahead of him. His body ached more at the very thought of it, but he wasn't going to give up easily.

He'll make it to the ocean...eventually.

He was surprised that Long-Nose wasn't saying anything to him in a reprimanding tone, as he was expecting the large creature to make some incomprehensible complaint, perhaps of how slow he was on land. But the group's obvious leader seemed to understand the situation and made no rush. Cretaceous felt his grudge go on temporary hold.

Looking up, he saw the Flier following him from above. It seems that whatever this creature does never surprises him. He knew that this flier was going to accompany him from a distance until an opportunity presents itself. Well, he wasn't going to give it any opportunity. Not while he was still breathing.

The herd waited patiently until Scaley paused a short few yards away, catching its breath. It growled at the vulture circling overhead before looking at them, its threat still emitting from its throat. Without further ado, it continued on its own, eventually moving past them slowly and showing no signs of stopping.

"Great." Manny muttered as he stared at the large bird landing next to their newest member, who hissed while it rested again. "Looks like Scaley comes at a price."

Sid smiled. "Don't worry, Manny. I'm sure the scary vulture will go away sooner or later."

"No, I mean with how long this is going to take. It's too slow." the mammoth said irritably as he continued.

As they soon got into the lead again with Scaley working hard to keep up, the other herd members knew that this indeed was going to take awhile. Until...

"Manny! Why don't you carry it?" Sid suggested. This, as expected, got an almost instant response.

"No way."

Again, starting an argument with Sid. Never a good idea. The other herd members paused to watch and Scaley hesitated nearby, probably wondering what's going on and what these two were talking about. Well, it was going to learn something soon about how Sid will always get his way.

"Why not?" the sloth continued.

"Why should I?" Manny countered.

"_Because_...as far as we know, you're the only one who strong enough to carry it. Remember?"

Manny did recall how Scaley got caught on his tusks and how he threw it away. But still...to carry this thing? Sid didn't give him much more time to think.

"And if you carry it, we'll be going a heck of a lot faster, don't you think?"

"He's gotta point." Diego butted in. Manny glared at the saber, then back at the annoying sloth grinning at him. Then, with a sigh, he again realized how useless it was to disagree with Sid and gave in. Looking at Scaley, he moaned and moved closer, hoping to get this done and over with before he changed his mind. Except one little problem...

Cretaceous felt his grudge return quickly and hissed loudly at the Long-Nose's approach...He has no idea what's going on, but he's having a feeling that he's not gonna like it...

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Yay! I'm getting more reviews than I thought. I wuv you guys for supporting me through this fic. And hopefully, this will be a story I'll actually complete thanks to you! Keep up on the reviews and I'll keep working on the next chappie! Squee!


	6. Reluctant Passenger

Disclaimer: I don't own Ice Age movies or any of their characters.

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Manny looked back at the others expectantly as Scaley snapped at the air in his direction, still growling. Personally, he was hoping something like this would happen and then he'll have an excuse not to carry this carnivore around. However, Sid just smiled and waved towards the reptile, as if urging the mammoth to continue.

"I'm gonna regret this." Manny muttered before taking another step towards Scaley.

If there's one thing Cretaceous doesn't like, it's seeing his threats being ignored. These creatures might not understand him in terms of words, but they obviously get the concept of body language. And the language his body was giving off DID NOT say, 'Come closer please'. It said, 'Come closer and you'll die'. He figured out that most of time, whenever he growled at the other fur balls, they'll back off almost immediately. But this one seemed particularly hard headed. It had to be, for it was coming closer!

And if that was bad, what's worse is that it was bending down until its tusks were touching the ground...and it was reaching towards him with its over-sized nose. Since he saw no other option and was motivated by the fact that he still hated this fur ball...his next action was to be expected.

Almost completely ignoring his injured belly, he pushed forward on his paws in a lunge and actually bit the nose of his enemy.

Manny cried out in pain as Scaley clamped those murderous jaws onto his trunk. Feeling the sharp teeth digging in, he backed up and tried to pull his nose free. Lifting the limb into the air, Scaley was lifted as well as it was apparently refusing to let go. In fact, it was grinning evilly and gave its head a small shake. Determined to take this painful grip off one of his more important body parts, Manny stepped on the tip of Scaley's tail and pulled his trunk higher.

"Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow." the mammoth muttered as he did so.

Cretaceous kept holding on stubbornly, growling as he was painfully strained between tail and mouth. Long-Nose was smart, he'll give it that. But he was not planning on letting go anytime soon. For him, this was practically a dream come true. He could hear the Flier chuckling nearby and, for once, he didn't mind.

The other members of the group, apparently getting over their initial shock, came to their companion's aid. Two-Legs was the first to approach him, talking in that annoying voice. Cretaceous was quick to raise the volume of his growl and he made a swipe with his forepaw, still not letting go. For all he knew, an opportunity like this will never come again! Luckily, Two-Legs backed up nervously...

And was replaced by smallest members, which this reptile labeled as the Pink-Tails #1 and #2. These tiny fur balls climbed up his body and tried to pry at his jaws. He gave another shake of his head, not only to successfully throw them off, but also to dig his fangs deeper. He heard Long-Nose cry out again and he was enjoying this immensely. If only Maelstrom could see him now! He could imagine the green reptile watching with an amused expression before half-heartedly informing him that he'd have to release his hold soon. He almost laughed at the thought that reminded him of the good ol' days.

After ridding himself of the Pink-Tails, he saw the Smaller-Long-Nose take up its turn. For several reasons, he liked this one the best out of all of them. This fur ball didn't annoy him at all and actually showed some form of tolerable kindness, like when it tried to comfort him while he cried over his friend's death. And, unlike Two-Legs, this creature's voice put him more at ease than on edge.

Ellie tried to look gentle as she came closer to Scaley, who kept an eye on her and stopped growling. Encouraged by this, she reached out with her own trunk and softly stroked its head. Its eyes narrowed a bit, but it stayed motionless. She spoke in a soothing tone.

"Now, now. Let go of Manny. He's trying to do you a favor." she told it. She knows by now that it couldn't understand her, but maybe the way she said it will get the point across. Her trunk moved from the creature's head to its neck and gently tried to pull it off. However, Scaley showed no signs of cooperating. It must really have its heart set on this one well-placed bite.

"Ellie! Just yank it off!" Manny said almost desperately. His nose was taking a lot of pain here and he just wanted it to stop as soon as possible. His mate gave him a look as if he was an idiot.

"If I yank it off, it might take a piece of you with it. And I don't know about you, but I prefer everybody to remain whole, thank you very much." she told him almost irritably before turning a tender gaze at Scaley. She tried again with the gentle pulling while hooking her own tusks against its body.

At long last, Scaley seemed to have tired with the bite and let go, laying on Ellie's tusks. The female mammoth almost tumbled over with the burden and leaned against a freed Manny. She knew that she wasn't strong enough to hold Scaley much longer and wanted to hand it over to Manny soon. After all, the male mammoth had almost a ton-worth of strength more than her. However, at the moment, Manny was preoccupied with trying to rid the pain in his trunk.

Cretaceous thought that he understood everything now. Being supported by these large furballs would take the stress off his wounds and would really speed things up. However, he could tell that Smaller-Long-Nose seemed to be under strain from his weight and he was about to slide off on his own before the Smaller-Long-Nose said something to its larger counterpart, who looked reluctant at what it was hearing.

After a brief exchange where Cretaceous picked up some tension and thus assumed it was an argument, he was transferred to the bigger fur ball.

"No way!" he hissed in protest. He'd rather suffer in the pain of hauling himself than to ride on this thing. But the smaller version gave him a stern look he's never seen before and he knew that this was for the best. He sighed and tried to shift to get comfortable. No doubt the tusks were in contact with some of his injuries, but at least his belly wound ached a lot less. Finally, he settled on a position where his front paws grasped the right tusk and his back flippers and tail kept him from slipping off the left tusk.

He rested his head down and let out a frustrated growl as the group continued on its way, with the Flier following overhead like a looming storm cloud of doom...

--

"Alright. We'll rest here for the night." Manny declared as he bent down to dump his unwanted load to the ground. Scaley hissed at him for this treatment and turned its head away before dragging itself a little ways off. Manny glared at it as it went before settling down to watch Sid make his fire.

Diego was looking at Scaley thoughtfully before pointing out something important. "It must be feeling hungry by now."

Sid smiled. "Hey, maybe that's why it took a chomp on Manny." This was rewarded with a whack upside the head from the said mammoth. "Ow! What?"

"It probably hasn't eaten anything in a while." Diego continued. "Maybe we should feed it something."

As the saber said that, he and Manny looked at Sid in a teasing manner, as if contemplating the possibilities of offering the sloth up to the reptile. Sid looked back at them with his hands on his hips.

"Ha ha, very funny." He then turned his attention on Scaley.

Cretaceous felt and heard his stomach rumble. He grunted, knowing why it was issuing such a complaint. He hasn't eaten since he and Maelstrom killed that shelled creature and that was days ago. Being a reptile, going without food for a bit was no problem. But in order to heal, his body needed fuel, and in this case, fuel came in the form of some unfortunate creature stupid enough to go near his mouth.

Inevitably, his eyes strayed to Two-Legs, who was staring right back at him.

Sid saw Scaley give him an ominous look and he edged closer to Manny. But at the same time, he tried to cover up his fear with a forced smile and a dismissive wave. "I'm sure its not that hungry."

At that instant, a dodo waddled over to the sea creature, clucking happily, not watching where it was going and the reptile lashed out and swallowed it whole. Then, to everyone's horrified looks, Scaley coughed out some feathers before giving a satisfied smile.

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Eep! Poor dodo. Well, they were only in the movies to be killed in some way or another...So this one had it coming. Please don't hesitate to review, as it will be most appreciative!

Quick Note about Cretaceous' note on the possums for future reference: #1 is Crash because I like him better and #2 is Eddie, who is just as cute but not as awesome.


	7. Language of Art

Disclaimer: I don't own Ice Age movies or any of their characters.

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"Here, Scaley. I have something to show you." Sid said, a white pointed rock at hand. He clicked his tongue and waved at the reptile, who was glaring at him with its teeth bared. Diego stared at the sloth, not bothering to move away from his spot near the fire. He was sure it wouldn't be worth it.

"Sid, what're you doing?" the tiger asked. The sloth bounced over to a stone wall nearby and started to draw something on it.

"Remember, guys? We did this once." Sid mentioned. Manny shrugged.

"And?" he responded. It was obvious that Sid was getting more and more excited. Over what, the others didn't know. But he soon explained it to them.

"_And_...I think I found a way to communicate with Scaley. At least temporarily." He scribbled more stuff on the wall. "Who knows, maybe our pal here will understand the language of art." He stepped back to reveal a crappy drawing of himself. Not exactly art. However, his fellow mammals were still shocked by the concept of his plan. It was...ingenious!

"_You_ thought of that?" Diego asked skeptically. There was no way that the sloth had discovered this all on his own.

"I have my moments." Sid told them with a snuff. Why did they always treat him like an idiot? He had thoughts! He can think up of ideas! He's perfectly capable of doing whatever he wanted to do! Forgetting the fact that he's always continuously being verbally (and sometimes physically) abused by his companions, he turned back to Scaley and tried again to beckon it over.

Cretaceous growled at Two-Legs, who continued to talk to him. Although he was sure it wanted him to come over for some reason, he glanced over at the Smaller-Long-Nose in the hopes of gaining some hint on what the annoying fur ball was doing. His favorite group member gave a nice smile and nodded towards the stone wall.

"Might as well get it done and over with." he muttered to himself with a sigh. Shifting his front paws, he dragged himself closer, trying to hide a wince of pain while doing so. After arriving at the wall, he looked at whatever was doodled there. It was a drawing of Two-Legs, somehow uglier than the real thing. He hadn't thought it possible.

Two-Legs pointed at the scribble.

"See that, Scaley? It's your best buddy, Sid." the sloth said with a smile. The reptile only grunted, staring at the picture with an unimpressed expression. Sid decided to continue. "I'm gonna show you a story of how we all met. It's actually pretty nice."

Sid scribbled another picture, this time of the two familiar rhinos the sloth hopes never to see again. In the picture, they looked very angry. Scaley watched as the story began to unfold. Sid drew out how Manny saved him from those two very angry rhinos and how they met Pinky. When he drew out Diego, the tiger stood up and wandered over.

"Am I really that ugly?" the feline muttered, subtly making fun of Sid's drawing skills. Of course, Sid didn't get it.

"Now, Diego. Don't be jealous of my good looks." the sloth joked while the tiger rolled his eyes.

Cretaceous stared at drawing after drawing. He knew that Two-Legs was telling him the story of their past adventures and he tried his best to follow along. So far, he could conclude that he liked those creature things with the horns on their snouts. He assumed they wanted to kill Two-Legs, just like him. And he also learned about Stubby-Tail's plan against Long-Nose and Two-Legs. He wondered what happened to change this fellow predator's mind.

He found out with the drawing of Long-Nose saving Stubby-Tail. He frowned at this before forcing his eyes to look at the next section. It was with more Stubby-Tails attacking the group. He learned how the group members won the battle and returned the weird mini creature back to its group. He then learned about the Smaller-Long-Nose and the Pink-Tails. He was excited about the flood part and when he showed up in the drawing. It was a crappy portrait of him, but he was too deep in the story to care.

Finally, he learned how the water drained and how the group came to his rescue. Then the drawings stopped.

The herd looked at Scaley for its reaction. The reptile seemed thoughtful and that was all Sid needed. He now wanted Scaley to tell its story and maybe they'll come to an even better understanding with each other. The sloth offered the drawing rock with a smile.

"Your turn." he said in anticipation. Scaley glanced at him and stared at the rock. Finally, it seemed to understand what was wanted and it looked hesitant.

"Come on. You can do it." Ellie encouraged and the possums nodded as they hopped onto her tusks. Scaley looked at them and gave a very soft half-hearted growl before reaching out with a paw to take the rock. Leaning slightly on one side, it seeked out a good spot on the wall and proceeded to draw. It's artistic style was better than Sid's, that's for sure...

It drew what looked like a mound, and in the mound were circle-shaped things. The herd tried to interpret it as Scaley moved to another drawing. Diego was the first to get it.

"It hatched from an egg. The eggs were in a mound. Like a nest." he said with great certainty. He was good at this already.

Scaley finished its other drawing and they looked at that one as well. It was a creature that looked a lot like Scaley, with smaller creatures around it. This time, Eddie was the first to call the shot.

"That's probably its mom...or dad...or something."

In the next drawing, they learned of Scaley's parent leading the young ones to what looked like water. But there was something else in the drawing. It was a flying creature and Sid couldn't help but interrupt.

"Is that supposed to be a vulture?" He pointed at the picture, then at the vulture sleeping in a nearby tree. Scaley, though it looked angry at first, understood and shook its head in a no. It then continued to draw the other one. This time, it was of a giant something attacking Scaley's parent. The little babies looked panicked and were obviously retreating into the water, all the while being picked off by the flying thing. After a moment, Scaley replaced its parent's eyes with big X's. It was obvious what that implied.

But it was the attacking creature that made everyone pause, for they knew what it was. It was a dinosaur! They stared at the occupied Scaley in disbelief. It came from the times of dinosaurs?! That was incredible! Maybe it was a dinosaur itself! A survivor from the long past...right in front of them...It was almost too much to comprehend.

They didn't have time to be shocked for long before Scaley continued. It showed them how it separated from its siblings and found the green sea monster. As it drew what looked like its friend eating clams, Scaley grimaced in disgust before continuing. It drew them a picture that emphasized an increase of size. Ellie smiled.

"They grew up together. Isn't that sweet?"

Scaley drew another picture with a block of something. The sketch showed them of the reptile swimming in and Scaley looked at them for a moment before continuing. This time, it and the green creature were in a lake that seemed very familiar.

"Hey, that's the water park." Sid pointed out. Scaley doodled a rough sketch of what looked like a glyptodon about to get eaten by the predatory duo.

"Doesn't that look like Fast Tony's..." Manny started, but didn't bother to continue. Everyone already got the idea and they shuddered. At least now they knew what happened. Shaking their fears away, they watched as the story continued, all the way down to how Scaley struggled to free his friend from under the rock and how the vultures showed up.

It was then that Scaley stopped and stared at them again. It nodded for some reason and shifted more on its side. The herd startled at what they saw. Scaley's belly had this terrible gash...all this time, the purple sea lizard was injured and they never knew it. Looking horrified, Ellie stepped closer. She at least suspected it, but she never thought it was this bad.

"Oh, sweetie." was all she could say.

Cretaceous had to convince himself to show them such an injury. At first, he had no intention of letting them know anything, as they might've taken advantage of his weakness. But now, he changed his mind, certain that they meant him no harm whatsoever. And he wanted them to help him in some way to make the pain disappear. He didn't know how they'll do it, but he certainly felt better about it already. At least now, he didn't have to hide everything.

Feeling obligated to explain how he got it, he pointed at the gash, then at the Flier. They seemed to understand and Smaller-Long-Nose petted him on the head. Cretaceous was starting to get used to that, and he's actually starting to like it. It reminded him of the mother he lost so long ago...

Only one last thing to do: Tell them why he joined the group to begin with. Drawing on the wall again, he illustrated the beach and ocean as best he could. Trying his best to look beseeching, he pointed to the picture, then to himself. He repeated this until they nodded...

And he knew that his point was taken...

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Now everything is starting to fall into place. Finally, Cretaceous could be led towards home...Please review if you want more!^^


	8. Dangerous Dream

Disclaimer: I don't own Ice Age movies or any of their characters.

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"Wake up. Scaley..." Ellie prompted, gently nudging the reptile. It was time to go and everyone was already awake, but not Scaley. Apparently, it saw it as its right to sleep in today. It looked so peaceful with its dream-filled smile that the female mammoth almost didn't want to ruin it. But they had to get moving if they were to get to the ocean on schedule. She gave it another nudge and it curled up tighter in response, still asleep.

Manny waited, no less impatient as usual. If this predator wanted to go to the ocean, it better not test him. After all, they didn't HAVE to help. Only thought that made Manny agree in the first place was the fact that taking Scaley home meant getting rid of it. And after all he's been through, that was his most singular wish right now. Then after that, maybe he can go back to getting rid of Sid...Nah, Sid may be annoying beyond belief, but he's still a good guy.

Crash and Eddie climbed on top of the creature's head and pulled an eyelid open.

"Hello." Crash muttered with a grin. The eye turned to look at him and Scaley jerked its head up, throwing the possums into the air, where they landed on Diego's face. Crash had an almost instant response, blue eyes wide in excitement as he scurried over the growling tiger. "That was so cool!"

Scaley didn't make a sound as it curled up again, quickly falling back to sleep. Obviously, this wasn't working.

Giving up, Ellie sighed and looked at Manny. The male mammoth looked back at her and she nodded her head towards the reptile. Manny understood and shook his head vigorously. In response, Ellie narrowed her eyes and stomped her foot. Manny glared, not at all amused by this silent argument, mostly because he was losing (Manny can never win!). Sighing in defeat, he approached Scaley and bent down. Careful not to wake the sleeping animal, he scooped it up in his tusks and Scaley's claws automatically locked on tight to one of them.

"Alright, let's go..." he grunted almost inaudibly. Everyone followed and Sid waddled underneath the reptile, looking up at the gashed belly.

"Ouch. No wonder Scaley's got issues." the sloth muttered, wincing as if he's the one in pain. "I mean, I'd have issues too if I had that."

"Really?" Diego said as he walked alongside, the possums on his back. Sid never understood why the cat carried the possums willingly, but yet refused to give him a ride when asked. But it was something Sid never thought about too much. The tiger continued with a playful grin. "Maybe we should test that out."

"Funny..." Sid muttered as he stepped out from under Manny, not knowing if Diego truly meant it. Of course the tiger didn't, but it was still fun to act like he did. Diego was even considering making a living out of playing with Sid in this manner.

Cretaceous felt that he was being moved even in his sleep, but he didn't pay it much mind. He was too busy trying to interpret a now rather troublesome dream he was having:

_Like most of his dreams, this one took place in the ocean. He was swimming rather quickly, too quickly in his opinion. Was it even possible for him to travel at such speeds? He didn't think so. It was almost like he was retreating from something, but who in the ocean could possibly make him do that? He was one of the top predators in the past and he was determined to make himself so in this time as well. He forced himself to stop in his dream. He wanted to see the source of his imaginary fear._

_He looked behind himself and saw nothing. Glancing around suspiciously, he spotted a deep shadow below him and glowing red eyes. He cried out as the much larger creature opened jaws that looked much like his own, but on a bigger scale, and he could see the teeth shining unnaturally. The thing charged with a roar and the dream ended abruptly only to be replaced by another one._

_In this one, he was swimming with a familiar partner. Maelstrom! Cretaceous had to convince himself that this was a dream, but he still felt bounding happiness that was quite a contrast to the fear he was experiencing earlier. The duo was swimming together when the fur balls appeared in the water, struggling towards the surface for air. He heard Maelstrom mutter a suggestion to eat them and Cretaceous hesitated. Should he? They were helping him..._

_Suddenly, he felt his body act on its own and he lunged at the group with his companion at his side. The shadowy creature from the previous dream reappeared and swallowed their targets whole...all at the same time! It then turned to the reptiles ominously and Cretaceous got a good underwater sniff of it. He drew water into his mouth and shot it out his nose to pick up the scent. It smelled familiar, almost like him...but not._

Cretaceous opened his eyes hurriedly, not wanting to face the unknown monster. He never had a dream like that before and he lingered on it for a few seconds. For some strange reason, he could still smell it. He exhaled sharply, but it was still there. He'll try his best to ignore it. Looking around, he saw that he was being carried by Long-Nose again and sighed, trying to relax. He was having a lot of stress in his mind and that's what caused the dream. Nothing else.

"Hey, Scaley. You're awake now." Sid said with a smile. The reptile glanced at him and he couldn't help but notice a subtle change. Scaley looked rather tense and on alert. Was something bad about to happen? Scaley grunted and shook its head as if trying to get rid of something. The purple sea creature glanced at him again and sniffed in his direction. He was rather confused by this as Scaley sniffed Diego's direction in turn.

Cretaceous couldn't ignore the smell no matter how hard he tried. He started to pick up the scents of the group members to make sure it wasn't them he was smelling. He even went as far as to look up at the Flier and sniff. None of them matched the smell still lodged in his nose. Where was it coming from? They were looking at him in concern, but thankfully, they didn't stop progress. Last thing he needed was for the travel to be longer than necessary.

The Stubby-Tail said something in an awed tone, looking at something in the distance. Curious, Creatceous looked as well and he saw a huge ice block, somehow still unmelted. Maybe its large size slowed down the process. Personally, he never liked ice...for obvious reasons. He would like not to put too much thought into it, except for one thing: The unknown smell was coming from that block. A growl emerged from his throat instinctively. He didn't know how it was that the ice could smell like this and he definitely did not want to find out.

"What's wrong?" Ellie asked, watching as Scaley threatened the giant block of ice they were now passing. Why was it doing that? Ice never did much harm to anybody. She looked at Manny, who shrugged as best as he could with his load. She turned to Diego, wondering if this strange reaction was a predator thing. The feline had an equally confused expression, but he decided to follow Scaley's lead and growl at the ice as well, just in case something dangerous was lurking there.

The herd sped up, not wanting to stress the situation. If this block was so bothering, it was best to move along fast.

Cretaceous was glad that they were walking quicker. He watched as the ice disappeared from view, leaning outward to look past Long-Nose's side. There was truly something very ominous about this situation. He couldn't help but look up at the Flier, who tilted its head at him before changing course and flying back towards the block, no doubt to check things out. Cretaceous vaguely hoped the Flier will take care of the problem of whether the unknown threat was real or not...

--

(Here's something I'll rarely do in this story...)

The Lone Gunslinger flapped his way towards this ice block that was causing such confusion. He wanted to know what's the big deal about it and he always goes out of his way to satisfy his curiosity. An example of this is when he risked attacking that reptile while it was still alive. Vultures rarely do such a thing, as it's too dangerous, but he wanted to know what live flesh from this foreign water creature would taste like. He found that he liked it a lot, enough to follow the herd everywhere for another chance to try it.

Arriving at his destination, he circled at a wide perimeter, looking for something unusual. Nothing so far...Nothing...He was starting to think it was a fluke, but he wasn't done with the circle yet. Maybe if he just...and he found it. On the other side of the block, a large crocodilian tail projected. And large was an understatement. It was huge! The creature it belonged to had to be four times the size of a mammoth! After getting over his surprise, the vulture licked his beak. Imagine how much flesh this thing has. Hopefully, it'll taste as good as that purple creature. He angled his wings to swoop and he landed on the ground beside it. The tail towered over him in a wall of scales.

The Gunslinger examined it up and down. This truely was an enormous creature! But that's not important. What was is that he's hungry and curious at the same time. He stepped closer, knowing that the scales at the underside was softest. That was the case for this 'Scaley' character and no doubt the same principle applied here. Opening his razor sharp beak, the large bird bit into the tail.

Almost immediately, the limb swished to the side. The vulture took off just before he could be struck. Circling high out of range, he stared as the tail jerked a few more times before settling. And if he listened carefully, he could hear a deep growl from the ice. Whatever was in there was alive and angry.

The Gunslinger looked in the direction of the herd and could just pick out their silhouette in the distance. Glancing back at the motionless creature, he smiled and turned to catch up with the others. And he couldn't help but mutter to himself:

"This outta be interestin'."

* * *

Sorry it took long. I was busy with other stuffs (intentional error), like school and other stories. But I haven't given up on this one yet. So I hope you guys are still waiting out there and will enjoy this!


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